La Mesa's Station 13 remodeled, back in service

Firefighters left site in December 2008

LA MESA  La Mesa unveiled extensive renovations to one of its older fire stations this week after nearly a year of remodeling.

Mayor Art Madrid joined community members at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday to celebrate the reopening of Fire Station 13, a nearly 50-year-old building on Grossmont Boulevard that had been closed since December 2008 for renovations.

“We’re excited about getting the fire station back open,” said Fire Chief Mike Scott. “I know the firefighters are interested in getting back there so they can be in a better position to serve that part of the city.”

Matt Souttere, the city’s engineering project manager, said the upgrades brought the station to current seismic codes and standards set by the federal Americans With Disabilities Act. Other improvements included installation of individual dorms; heating, ventilation and fire protection systems; removal of hazardous material; and an exercise room.

“Upgrading the fire station will provide an enhanced work environment for our firefighters,” Madrid said.

The project is one of three funded by Proposition D, a $25 million bond measure approved by city voters in March 2004 to upgrade public-safety facilities. In 2006, the bond paid for the rebuilding of Fire Station 11 on Allison Avenue. It also is paying for construction of a new police station on the corner of Baltimore Drive and University Avenue that is expected to be done by August.

Souttere pegged the project’s cost at about $1.2 million.

“The contractor has submitted stuff up to the last few weeks and now it’s our job to agree or dispute,” he said.

San Diego’s Randall Construction began renovation last April.﻿ Work was expected to be completed last September, but contract disputes and additional work extended the project’s schedule.

Fire Station 13, at 9110 Grossmont Blvd., was built in 1961, and crews there respond to more than 2,000 emergencies annually, many in the eastern portion of the city.